James Gurney

This daily weblog by Dinotopia creator James Gurney is for illustrators, plein-air painters, sketchers, comic artists, animators, art students, and writers. You'll find practical studio tips, insights into the making of the Dinotopia books, and first-hand reports from art schools and museums.

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or by email:gurneyjourney (at) gmail.comSorry, I can't give personal art advice or portfolio reviews. If you can, it's best to ask art questions in the blog comments.

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All images and text are copyright 2015 James Gurney and/or their respective owners. Dinotopia is a registered trademark of James Gurney. For use of text or images in traditional print media or for any commercial licensing rights, please email me for permission.

However, you can quote images or text without asking permission on your educational or non-commercial blog, website, or Facebook page as long as you give me credit and provide a link back. Students and teachers can also quote images or text for their non-commercial school activity. It's also OK to do an artistic copy of my paintings as a study exercise without asking permission.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

A fun way to pass the time while riding in a train is to do very quick sketches of the changing landscapes.

These are tiny watercolor sketches, only an inch and a half by ¾ of an inch, about the size of a postage stamp. Since the landscape disappears as quickly as it appears, you’re forced to form a mental image of the characteristic landscape.

As you transition from one region to the other you can easily see how the big planes of color gradually change.

Working quickly from a combination of observation and memory builds your skills for seeing stationary but complex scenes in simple terms. like this train station.

12 comments:

JIm, is that everthing you carried on your person, on the tray in front of you? Do you carry a small shoulder bag or can you fit everything in cargo- pants pockets? Thanks for documenting this trip, I have enjoyed it all!John

yeah i agree, great work jeanette! without your hard work we would only have half a blog here, haha, it proably wouldnt look right with mr gurney constantly holding the camera up to himself...people would think he has a huge ego...

instead jeanette can do it for him...and then when no one is looking she can tell him he has a huge ego...haha! just kidding,

keep up the great work, i always enjoy reading and seeing what the gurney duo is up to!!!!!

Hello James.I'm a blurker but faithful reader of your blog. This is my first comment. I really loved your small train portraits. It's an idea I will have to try on my next time on Amtrak.But I wanted to mention that what I most appreciated was your including a photograph of your tools like you did on your "Kitchen Table Portraits" a few days back. I never would've known about using two waterpens with on filled with pre-mixed sepia. I've used waterpens for a few years and never thought of that. Anyway, my point is that those little behind the scene glimpses are SO helpful. I was curious to know what you used on that train journey. Many thanks for a marvelous and inspiring blog.

Wondermachine--thanks for reading, and I appreciate your comment. And Random York, too--I'll try to take a photo of the setup.

The sketch stuff all fits in a fanny pack, but I'm so in dread of looking like a typical American tourist that I've got it down to stuff that fits in two pockets: a small sketchbook, four colored pencils, and a waterbrush.

And thanks for the tip of the hat to Jeanette. She wields the camera and puts up with my ego. I'm not sure which is harder.